1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a clip that is mountable to a waist belt for suspending a pouch, knife sheath, flashlight or other article from the belt. More particularly, the invention relates to a resilient, lockable clip that is mountable to both a one-inch and a two-inch wide, load bearing equipment (“LBE”) waist belt and, using a Modular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment (“MOLLE”) attachment system, can suspend MOLLE-compatible pouches and accessories from the belt.
2. Background Art
Clips have long been in use for attaching various kinds of items to a waist belt, such as a pouch or sheath that houses a multitool, knife, cell phone, flashlight, GPS device or other item (collectively referred to here as “retainable items”) that a sportsman, soldier or building trades workman (e.g., carpenter, plumber, electrician) may wish to suspend from his waist belt. Comprised of a resilient material, such clips have commonly included front and rear panels joined by a top bight that was shaped and dimensioned to overlie an upper edge of a waist belt. Such clips have further included a lock disposed at lower ends of the front and rear panels such that the clip could, when unlocked, form an open loop for attaching a retainable item and, when locked, form a closed loop for retaining said retainable item on the clip while simultaneously securing the clip to the belt. Exemplary of such lockable belt clips is the carrying clip disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,551,019 to Pierre, wherein, to lock and unlock the clip, a hook end of a front panel thereof could, by manipulating an adjacent release tab, be alternately moved into and out of engagement with a shoulder portion of a rear panel thereof, respectively. In U.S. Pat. No. 2,869,198, Clevett disclosed a bolt slidably mounted to a rear panel of a belt clip which, when slid down and inserted into a slot at a lower end of the front panel, locked the clip. A similar lockable clip was disclosed by Van Buren, Jr. in U.S. Pat. No. 2,823,434.
In order to reduce the chance of an inadvertent opening of his clip, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,342,140 Lacey disclosed a clip having a keeper and locking means that required the simultaneous application of a plurality of forces originating from different directions in order to unlock the keeper and thereby unlock the clip
In U.S. patent application 2007.0278270 A1, Castaneda disclosed a locking belt clip intended for attaching a portable electronic device to a waist belt. His clip pivotably attached an upper end portion of a rear panel or support arm to an upper end portion of a front panel or securement arm. A lower end of the support arm terminated in a barbed flange having a transverse capture channel. A lower portion of the support arm included a curved finger that terminated at a lower end thereof in an offset. When the clip was in closed position, the offset was lodged within the capture channel and secured therein by spring bias. The clip was opened by moving the offset rearward against the spring bias, which movement permitted the securement arm to spring forward, free from the support arm.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,214,686, Dostourian disclosed a lockable belt clip comprising metallic wire bent to form two substantially parallel loops having extensions in the form of substantially parallel arms. The arms, and the loops that joined the arms, were intended to fit around a military serviceman's waist belt. Free ends of the wire were formed into ears that could pass between one pair of parallel arms and snap back behind the arms to lock the clip. A latch, also formed of wire, was slidable along the arms to latch and unlatch the arms.
These and other prior art lockable belt clips have had certain limitations and deficiencies, however, which the present invention is intended to overcome, as follows.
Insufficient Strength of Attachment of a Clip to a Waist Belt:
Vigorous jostling motions of prior art waist belt clips, incurred as a user was running, jumping, crawling along the ground, or in hand-to-hand combat, could sometimes cause the clip to shift position along the user's belt, causing the retained item to be difficult or impossible for the user to reach and grasp at that point in time.
Not Compatible with MOLLE-Compatible Pouches and Accessories:
The term Modular Lightweight Load-carrying Equipment is used to define the current generation of load-bearing equipment and rucksacks utilized by the United States armed forces. The system uses a Pouch Attachment Ladder System (“PALS”), which is a grid of webbing that is used to attach smaller equipment onto load-bearing platforms, such as vests and backpacks. In the military, PALS is used to attach items to a serviceman's body, such as knife sheathes, ammunition magazine pouches, radio pouches, and holsters. PALS consists of webbing sewn onto the load-bearing equipment and corresponding webbing and straps on the attachment. The straps are interwoven between the webbing on each of two pieces and then snapped into place. As required by current military specifications, a PALS grid consists of horizontal rows of one-inch nylon webbing, vertically spaced one inch apart, and attached to a backing at 1.5 inch intervals. MOLLE-compatible pouches and accessories are each provided with a pair of straps that are appropriately spaced apart for insertion through, and retention within, the nylon webbings of a PALS grid. For instance, for attachment to a PALS grid, a standard, nylon multitool pouch includes a two-inch wide top loop strap and, spaced vertically apart by 1.75 inches therefrom, a two-inch wide bottom loop strap. The prior art lockable belt clips made no provision for easy and secure attachment to such loop straps, and they were made either too wide or too narrow.
Not Adapted for Secure Attachment to the Current Range of Widths of LBE Belts:
The width of Load Bearing Equipment waist belts generally ranges from one to two and one-fourth inches, and it is a desirable that a single clip should be universal in the sense that it should be easily and securely attachable to any LBE belt having a width within that range. It appears, however, that prior to the present invention, no lockable prior art waist belt clip has been disclosed that could be easily and securely attached to such a wide range of widths of LBE waist belts.
Too Noisy:
Removing most lockable prior art clips, such as those that use hook-and-loop fasteners (VELCRO®), from a waist belt creates a noticeable sound, which can be highly undesirable in game hunting and military battlefield contexts.
Two Hands Required to Attach and Remove:
It is a desirable feature that a lockable waist belt clip be easily attached to, and removable from, a belt with one hand only; whereas, most lockable, prior art waist belt clips have required use of both hands to attach and remove the clip from a waist belt.